Container for cosmetic products in general, for cosmetic products for the eyes and lips in particular

ABSTRACT

A container for cosmetic products, fitted with a hollow base body ( 2 ), a refill bottle ( 4 ) for the cosmetic product packaged in the container ( 1 ), a wand ( 12,12   a ) for applying the cosmetic product and a lid ( 3,3   a ) for closing said bottle ( 4 ). In this way, a container structure is obtained for cosmetic products of the modular type with separate elements, mutually coupled when the container is assembled in use and reciprocally separable for the replacement of damaged elements and for the refill of the depleted cosmetic product.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a container for cosmetic products ingeneral, particularly for cosmetic products for eye and lip care.

The field of the invention is that of containers for cosmetic products,such as mascara for the eyes, formed by an outer casing and an innerpart for containing the cosmetic, usually in the liquid or paste state.

The container forming the outer casing represents the part of thepackage through which the product is presented and described for thequalities that make it attractive, interesting and desirable topurchase. For this reason, the packaging project assumes a commerciallyessential role in the field of cosmetics for eyes and lips, witheconomic repercussions that significantly affect the production cost andsales price of these items.

Known packages for products of this type, however, have the drawback ofbeing of the disposable type, being made of a container whose outercasing substantially forms a single piece with the inner part containingthe cosmetic. For this reason, the creative effort and the chargesinvolved in producing a package with a pleasant and captivatingappearance are neutralized and definitively lost when the cosmeticproduct it contains is depleted.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The main object of the present invention is to provide a container forcosmetic products in general, and for the eyes and lips in particular,which, unlike similar containers known in the art, can be recovered andtherefore used again.

The invention also has the object of providing a container of the typedescribed above, which can be reused after the initial cosmetic has beenfully consumed, with rapid and very simple operations.

A further object of the invention is to provide a container of the typedescribed, which is suitable for being repeatedly disassembled each timethe cosmetic product is fully depleted and subsequently assembled, eachtime restoring the starting package.

These and other objects are accomplished through the container of claim1. Preferred embodiments of the container of the invention will beapparent from the remaining claims.

Compared with the traditional embodiments of the sector, the containerof the invention offers the advantage of being able to be recovered,thus allowing it to be reused.

The container of the invention also has the advantage of being able tobe reused after the initial cosmetic has been fully consumed, with rapidand very simple operations.

According to a further advantage, the container of the invention isformed by a set of parts or components which are all separable from eachother. In this way, the container of the invention is suitable for beingrepeatedly disassembled each time the cosmetic product is fully depletedand subsequently reassembled, allowing the starting package to berestored each time.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other objects, advantages and features result from thefollowing description of some preferred embodiments of the container ofthe invention shown, by the way of non-limiting example, in the figuresof the attached drawing sheets.

In these:

FIGS. 1 to 3 show the container of the invention in front view, inoverall perspective view and in longitudinal section, respectively;

FIG. 3A is a sectional view of detail A of FIG. 3;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the container of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4A shows an exploded view of the container 1 and the replacement ofthe refill from the top of the capsule 3;

FIG. 4B shows an exploded view of the container 1 and the replacement ofthe refill from the bottom of the capsule 3 a;

FIG. 5 shows the base body of the container of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 shows the refill bottle of the container of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the detail of the mouth of the bottle ofFIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the scraper plug of the container of FIG.1;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the wand with mascara applicator of thebottle of FIG. 1, with top insertion version;

FIG. 9A is a sectional view of the wand with mascara applicator of thebottle of FIG. 1, in the version with insertion of the wand into the lid(or cap) of the container from below;

FIGS. 10 and 10A are sectional views of the lid of the container of FIG.1 with insertion of the wand from the top;

FIG. 10B is a sectional view of the lid of the container of FIG. 1 withinsertion of the wand from the bottom;

FIGS. 11-11A, 12-12A, 13-13A and 14-14A show embodiment variants of thecontainer of the previous figures.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The container of the invention, indicated as a whole with the numeral 1in FIGS. 1 to 3, has a substantially cylindrical conformation consistingof a hollow base body 2, closed at the mouth by means of a lid 3, whichis also hollow.

As better shown in FIG. 4, a bottle 4 or refill containing the cosmeticproduct, represented in the example by a mascara for the eyes, is housedinside the cylindrical base body 2 of the container 1.

According to the invention, the bottle 4 is introduced inside the basebody 2 passing through the mouth 5 of the latter and is fixed in thisposition by screwing the external thread 6 of the bottle 4 onto thethread 7 provided inside the mouth 5 of the base body 2 of the container1.

Above the external thread 6, the refill bottle 4 has a protruding neck8, in turn provided with an external thread 9 arranged in a positioncontiguous or close to the external thread 6. The neck 8 of the bottle 4also provides a mouth 10, which defines the seat for the scraper plug 11of the mascara, taken from the same bottle 4 by means of the wand 12.

As better shown in FIGS. 3A and 8, the scraper plug 11 has an uppermouth 13 and a lower mouth 14, suitable for receiving the stem 15 of thewand 12, bearing the applicator 16 for the mascara (FIG. 9).

On the upper mouth 13 of the scraper plug 11 is an external protrudingcols lar 18 suitable for housing, with a reversible snap connection andwith the scraper plug 11 assembled in use, in a corresponding groove 19,provided inside the mouth 10 of the neck 8 of the bottle 4 (FIG. 7).

The wand 12 illustrated in FIG. 9 has, at the end of the stem 15opposite the mascara applicator 16, a head 20 fitted with an externalribbing 21 suitable for engaging by means of force, or by means of areversible thread, or with a mechanical, bayonet, magnetic/bayonet typecoupling or similar, with the inner wall 22 of the hollow cylindricallid 3 of the container 1. A cap 23 is provided to close the lid 3 fromthe top, once the wand 12 has been inserted into it from above (FIG.10). The mouth 24 of the lid 3, opposite the one closed by the cap 23,has an internal thread 25, suitable for engaging with the correspondingexternal thread 9 of the neck 8 of the mascara refill bottle 4 (FIGS. 3Aand 10A).

Advantageously, moreover, the lid 3 of the container 1 of the inventionhas an inner transverse wall 26, which defines an upper chamber 27housing the head 20 of the wand 12 and a lower chamber 28 correspondingto the portion of the cavity provided with the thread 25. A hole 29 isalso provided on the wall 26 to allow passage of the stem 15 of the wand12 for the mascara.

In the variant of FIG. 9A, the head 20 of the wand 12 a has an externalribbing 21 and an internal ribbing or thread 21 a, suitable for engagingwith said external thread 9 of the neck 8 of the bottle 4. In turn, thelid 3 a of FIG. 10B has an internal thread 30. In the coupling, theexternal ribbing 21 of the wand 12 a engages with the internal ribbing30 of the lid 3 a, which allows replacement of the wand 12 a from thebottom of the lid 3 a.

In the container 1 of the invention, the lid 3 and the wand 12 insertedin the lid 3 are then closed on the base body 2 by its internal thread25 engaging with the external thread 9 of the neck 8 of the bottle 4.The scraper plug 11 is in turn housed inside the mouth 10 of the neck 8of the bottle 4 and slidably receives the stem 15 of the wand 12 for themascara. The head 20 of the wand 12 instead has a reversible snapengagement inside the hollow lid 3 of the container 1.

Assembly of the container of the invention is therefore carried out withthe following operations, performed in succession:

-   -   the mascara refill bottle 4 is inserted into the hollow base        body 2, passing through the mouth 5 of the latter and performing        a removable or reversible coupling, by screwing the respective        threads 6 and 7 on to each other;    -   the scraper plug 11 is locked in the mouth 10 of the neck 8 of        the bottle 4, engaging with the external collar 18 of the        scraper 11 in the groove 19 of the same mouth 10;    -   the wand 12 for the mascara is inserted into the lid 3,3 a of        the container 1, locking the ribbing 21 of the head 20 of the        wand 12 against the inner wall 22 of the same lid 3;    -   the stem 15 of the wand 12 bearing the applicator 16 is        subsequently introduced into the bottle 4, passing through the        mouths 13 and 14 of the scraper plug 11 and traveling up until        interference of the internal thread 25 of the lid 3 of the        container 1 with the corresponding external thread 9 of the neck        8 of the bottle 4.

With the reverse operations, the depleted bottle 4 is freed from thebase body 2 of the container 1, so that it can be replaced with a newbottle full of mascara.

From the above description, it can readily be understood how thecontainer of the invention has a modular structure, that is obtained bythe reciprocal composition of elements separate from each other andwhich, for this reason, can be easily replaced and disposed of.

Modifications can be made to the invention as described above in orderto produce further variants, also included in the following claims.Thus, for example as illustrated in FIGS. 11-11A, 12-12A, 13-13A and14-14A, the base body 2 and the lid 3 of the container 1 could have anyshapes, even with different patterns. Furthermore, the scraper plug 11could be omitted, leaving instead only the body 2, the lid 3, the bottle4 and the wand 12.

The reciprocal connection solutions between the various components couldalso be different from those illustrated, while remaining within thescope of reversible or removable type couplings, such as snap, spring,bayonet, magnetic or mechanical reversible joints or closures. Thearrangement of the threads could also be different from that describedabove, with inversion between internal/external.

All kinds of materials can be used to produce the components of thecontainer of the invention, for instance plastic, or a metal such asaluminum, glass, wood and combinations thereof. The parts of thecontainer can also be coupled to without the need for the use of glues,but by exploiting the described reversible connection systems, so as toallow replacement of the empty or damaged parts only.

1. A container for cosmetic products, having a modular structure withdistinct elements, mutually coupled to form a container assembled in useand mutually separable for replacing damaged elements and for refillingdepleted cosmetic product, said elements comprising: a hollow base body;a refill bottle for holding the cosmetic product; a wand for applicationof the cosmetic product; a lid for closing said refill bottle, and ascraper plug for slidably receiving a support stem of said wand; whereinsaid base body is provided with a mouth fitted with an internal thread,and further wherein said refill bottle (4) has an external threadconfigured and arranged for engaging with the internal thread of saidbase body; and wherein above said external thread, the refill bottle hasa protruding neck, and further wherein said protruding neck includes anexternal thread and a mouth.
 2. The container according to claim 1,wherein said wand has a head joined to said support stem.
 3. Thecontainer according to claim 2, wherein said head of the wand isprovided with an external thread suitable for engaging, by means offorce, with an inner wall of a hollow cylindrical lid.
 4. The containeraccording to claim 3, wherein said hollow cylindrical lid has a mouthprovided with an internal thread, that is configured and arranged forengaging with said external thread of the neck of the refill bottle. 5.The container according to claim 4, wherein said hollow cylindrical lidalso has an inner transverse wall, which defines an upper chamberconfigured and arranged for housing said head of the wand, and a lowerchamber.
 6. The container according to claim 5, wherein a hole isprovided in said inner transverse wall, wherein said hole is configuredand arranged to allow the passage of said support stem therethrough. 7.The container according to claim 3, wherein said hollow cylindrical lidhas an internal thread that is configured and arranged for engaging withsaid external thread of the head of the wand.
 8. The container accordingto claim 7, wherein said wand has an internal thread configured andarranged for engaging with said external thread of the neck.
 9. Thecontainer according to claim 1, wherein said scraper plug is arrangedinside said mouth of the refill bottle.
 10. The container according toclaim 9, wherein said scraper plug has an upper mouth and a lower mouth,suitable for receiving the support stem of the wand, and further whereina scraping edge is provided on an inner surface of the lower mouth. 11.The container according to claim 8, wherein a groove is provided insidethe mouth of the neck of the refill bottle and said scraper plug has, atsaid mouth, an external protruding collar that is configured andarranged for being received within said groove.
 12. A method forassembling the container according to claim 2, wherein comprising thesteps of: closing the lid on the hollow base body by coupling of theinternal thread of the lid with the external thread of the neck of therefill bottle, and reversibly engaging the head of the wand inside thelid of the hollow case bods.
 13. A method for assembling the containeraccording to claim 4, comprising the step of: closing the hollowcylindrical lid on the hollow base body by coupling of the internalthread of the hollow cylindrical lid with the external thread of theneck of the refill bottle, wherein the wand is engaged reversibly insidethe hollow cylindrical lid.
 14. The method according to claim 12,further comprising the following steps: inserting the refill bottle intothe hollow base body of the container, by passing the refill bottlethrough the mouth of the base body and performing a removable orreversible coupling, by screwing the external thread of the refill bodyand the internal thread of the hollow base body to each other; lockingthe scraper plug into the mouth of the neck of the bottle, by engagingan external collar of the scraper in a groove of the mouth of the neck;inserting the wand into a hollow cylindrical lid of the container, bylocking ribbing of the head of the wand against an inner wall of thehollow cylindrical lid, screwing the wand for the cosmetic product, frombelow, to the inside the hollow cylindrical lid of the container; andsubsequently introducing the stem of the wand which carries anapplicator into the bottle by passing the stem through the scraper plug.